Amboy Crater

Back in March of this year, I was driving through the Mojave to the Grand Canyon.  Years earlier, my friend, George M. and I were shooting a highway student film out this way on Route 66 near the town on Amboy, California.  We had hiked up the volcano with my old pal and dog Marcus, and camped out at the Crater to shoot a really, not sure if it was ever released, cheesy sci-fi “thriller” for an indie producer.

One time we had driven out there in a 1985 Honda Prelude and tried to “off-road” it over the sand and volcanic rocks.  Don’t try it.  It doesn’t work.  We got hung up on some rocks and took a couple of hours to get free before it was pitch dark.  It was still fun and with all the time we spent out therein the extreme heat and wind, Amboy holds a special place in my heart.  So whenever I get the chance to take Route 66 through Amboy I’ll take it.

My wife was taking her choir to the Grand Canyon so my son and I, with the help of my parents, played the part of the roadies and tagged along.  We headed out a couple hours earlier so we could have more time to stop to stretch our legs a few times.

Amboy Crater is located midway between Barstow and Needles and is about 75 from either of these towns. The crater is accessible via Interstate 40 to National Trails Highway – Route 66.

If you are planning for a cool hike this is the ticket. Here are the basics you need to know:

Amboy crater is considered a moderate hike. The Crater area has been used to test the Mars rovers The trail starts though the lava fields. Just passed the lava field is a moderately flat area to the base. From the base, hike to the west side up a moderate slope. On the west side, follow the hike trail near the base. At the breach, hike up the steep incline into the crater. Once inside, you can hike straight to the caldera, or follow one of the steep trails up to the rim. You can hike on the rim from one side of the breach to the other. The northeast side of the rim is very narrow and steep on both side so be careful. Hiking boot recommended, lava rocks are sharp. This hike is best attempted in Autumn or Winter. Summer temperatures can get well over 100 degrees. Mucho HOT!
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Regular desert precautions apply: watch for snakes and other desert wildlife, bring abundant drinking water, hat, sunscreen, and sturdy shoes. It is best to avoid visiting Amboy Crater in summer conditions or in windy weather.

BLM’s Needles Field Office telephone number is +1 760 326 7000. Shaded and unshaded picnic tables are available, as are public restrooms.

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I know there are some sad people out there that may not completely appreciate huge cool factor that this is. If only for a few insightful moments, humor me.

Known variously as Century Ranch, Fox Ranch, and Malibu Creek Park, the main portion of the property that was once owned by 20th Century Fox was originally purchased in 1900 by a group of people who formed the Crag’s Country Club. In 1901, they built a dam across Malibu Creek at the top end of the gorge, thus forming the seven-acre lake, now known as Century Lake. Below Century Lake is Rock Pool. This was used in many films, most famously in Planet of the Apes or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Skye and I had been there four years earlier; from what we remembered it was an easy to moderate 4.6 mile hike. This would be a good hike to get back into it all again.

Now this is something both Skye and her mother can attest to, when I’d go hiking I’d tend to over pack and over carry a lot of stuff, case in point, my unceremoniously named “$500 Black and Yellow Backpack.” I’d carry an extra couple of water bottles, my SLR film camera, video camera and on occasion, 5-pound rocks for Skye’s mom’s backyard stream. Maybe subconsciously I had been training for this day.

It was a beautiful day. The weather could not have been better with blue skies and a gentle breeze. Skyler just had his 6-month checkup a week earlier and weighed in at just under 18 pounds, an extra 18 that I’d be carrying along.

My setup; a hip bag with two water bottles, one for me, one for Skye; a small camera, a “Baby Bjorn” with a baby boy included. All-in-all an extra 20 pounds. Not bad, that would have been only 4 rocks for the stream. Skye carried an over-the-shoulder bag that included our PB&J sammiches, a baby bottle, baby formula and a jar of peas, oh yeah, and three martini glasses. We are going to the old MASH site, remember?

The beginning of the hike is rather straightforward. The trail meanders along Malibu Creek, hence the name of the park, before the trail breaks from the creek and begins to ascend up a short but effective switch back hill. Even with the nice weather we had to stop a couple of time to catch our breath. Now when I say we I really mean me. Skye was doing much better that I. Before long, we were at the top with a great view. A brief pause and then we began our way down. To our left was Century Lake, in front of us a gentle down slope.

The trail headed northwest about a quarter mile before it arrived at a stream crossing.

The bridge had seen better days. The wooden rails had been snapped and broken, remnants of some huge flood. At this point we turned on to “Crag’s Trail” and basically just followed the creek.

The creek and the trail headed southwest through a ravine. We saw how high the water got during the recent storms, they must have been some 12 feet high during the height of the storms. Crazy stuff.We stopped along the creek to sit upon some kind of cement drainage system. It was lunch time for Skyler.

Break out the peas! We passed out time watching the mountain bikers pass through the water puddles and mud. Skyler was amused as he ate and really wasn’t as messy as I thought he’d be.

With a nice olive-drab color on his cheeks and a full belly, he was ready to head into camp. We were about a quarter mile from the old site. There was a point at which I thought I heard the old helicopter overhead.

As the ravine opened we saw the old burnt out jeep. We knew we had arrived. There were florescent flag markers staked in the ground outlining the old set buildings.

We could see where the old Swamp tent used to be, the main building and where the flagpole used to be. The helicopter pad is still in an obvious position.

One of the best shots of the day was when I found the spot where, in the opening credits, “Radar” O’Reilly is looking out to see the choppers fly in. The horizon lined up. Of course we had to take a picture of Skyler in the same spot. ‘Skyler “O’Reilly”?  We walked around camp. It’s much smaller than that of the movie/TV show. Since the interior scenes were shot on a sound stage they mainly just used site for daytime exterior shots.

Remember those martini glasses? How can you not take a picture here without them?

Our trek back was along the same trail that brought us in. Skyler had seen it all before so he fell asleep on the way back.

Skyler told me that next time we go out there we are going to bring a golf club to find the minefield! Until next time!

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